Solar Charger for bike lights, mp3 player, etc?

Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on a rear
rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
accessories?

I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers in the
rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. Right now, I use
rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all that
sunlight that shines on the bike all day.

I guess what I forgot to mention is that I want the charger to be able to
charge aa, aaa and 9-volt batteries. It can't be like the rack bag that
includes an outlet. Sorry for the lack of information!

Papa Tom wrote:
Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on a rear
rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
accessories?

I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers in the
rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. Right now, I use
rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all that
sunlight that shines on the bike all day.


http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/shop/asp...sp?product=139
I haven't tried it yet.

"futrino" wrote in message ...
| Papa Tom wrote:
| Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on a rear
| rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
| accessories?
|
| I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers in the
| rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. Right now, I use
| rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all that
| sunlight that shines on the bike all day.
|
|
| http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/shop/asp...sp?product=139
| I haven't tried it yet.

Looks interesting, but it's pretty darned big (11.5 x 21") so there are going to be some limitations for use (obviously, you need as much of that surface as possible getting direct sunlight). Max current is listed as 4.5 watts, so it's going to take quite a while to charge that 10 watt NiteRider battery. However, it says that gadget's been available since 2004, and I suspect efficiency has increased quite a bit since then, so there may be something newer (albeit likely more expensive) that could do a better job (smaller size or more current).

I doubt you could make a case that it's a particularly "green" thing to do, since there's a lot that goes into manufacturing semiconductor devices that isn't particularly healthy for the environment. But from a convenience standpoint on a long tour, it might be just the thing.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Aug 16, 10:19*am, "Papa Tom" wrote:
Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on a rear
rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
accessories?

I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers in the
rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. *Right now, I use
rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all that
sunlight that shines on the bike all day.


Based on responces on CrazyGuyonaBike.com (a touring website), there's
not a whole lot of useful solar chargers out there. Keeping them out
of your shadow and at the optimal angle is all but impossible, so you
rarely see their rated power output.

At least one 'round-the-worlder has a larger array that he puts out
when he stops, but he's hauling a trailer with something like 80kg of
stuff in it, so he's not a typical rider.

In article ,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

"futrino" wrote in message ...
| Papa Tom wrote:
| Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on a rear
| rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
| accessories?
|
| I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers in the
| rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. Right now, I use
| rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all that
| sunlight that shines on the bike all day.
|
|
| http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/shop/asp...sp?product=139
| I haven't tried it yet.

Looks interesting, but it's pretty darned big (11.5 x 21") so there are going to be some limitations for use (obviously, you need as much of that surface as possible getting direct sunlight). Max current is listed as 4.5 watts, so it's going to take quite a while to charge that 10 watt NiteRider battery. However, it says that gadget's been available since 2004, and I suspect efficiency has increased quite a bit since then, so there may be something newer (albeit likely more expensive) that could do a better job (smaller size or more current).

Perhaps others know what you are trying to get across here, though I do not.
Watt measure power, Ampere measure current. They are different units.

power: energy per unit time
current: charge per unit time

current x voltage = power

--
Michael Press
1 amp = 1.2534711e-11 pound electron / sec

On Aug 16, 7:19*am, "Papa Tom" wrote:
Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on a rear
rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
accessories?

I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers in the
rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. *Right now, I use
rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all that
sunlight that shines on the bike all day.

Dunno about charging batteries, but when it comes to powering lights,
I think dynohubs are the way to go. I'm not an EE, but I'm sure a
Schmidt hub has been adapted to charge batteries at some point in time.

I agree that it's a little too large for a rack, especially given the small
amount of power it will harness. I'm also not crazy about the price. I've
got a little model of a bicyclist on my desk that begins to pedal as soon as
the sun shines on it. It pedals fast and hard, too, so I figured a solar
screen just a little larger than the 1" X 3" on this thing would at least
give me an hour of playback on my mp3 player.

What about a crank charger, or one that works like those friction bicycle
headlights?

"Hank" wrote in message
...

Dunno about charging batteries, but when it comes to powering lights,
I think dynohubs are the way to go. I'm not an EE, but I'm sure a
Schmidt hub has been adapted to charge batteries at some point in time.

http://www.mark-ju.net/bike_ride/equ...lectronics.htm

cheers,
clive

Looks interesting, but it's pretty darned big (11.5 x 21") so there are
going to be some limitations for use (obviously, you need as much of that
surface as possible getting direct sunlight). Max current is listed as
4.5 watts, so it's going to take quite a while to charge that 10 watt
NiteRider battery. However, it says that gadget's been available since
2004, and I suspect efficiency has increased quite a bit since then, so
there may be something newer (albeit likely more expensive) that could do
a better job (smaller size or more current).

Perhaps others know what you are trying to get across here, though I do
not.
Watt measure power, Ampere measure current. They are different units.

Thank you, yes, I know that, my bad. Watts is an overall measurement of
power, which is a function of voltage and current. Voltage isn't generally
what kills you, current is. Yada yada yada. Some things you know so well
that you get clumsy with your thinking.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"Michael Press" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

"futrino" wrote in message
...
| Papa Tom wrote:
| Has anybody found an affordable solar charger that, perhaps, sits on
a rear
| rack and soaks up the sun's energy in order to power lights and other
| accessories?
|
| I ride with a 10 watt NiteRider headlamp, one of those red flashers
in the
| rear, an mp3 player, and a small amplified speaker. Right now, I use
| rechargeable batteries, but it seems such a waste not to harness all
that
| sunlight that shines on the bike all day.
|
|
| http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/shop/asp...sp?product=139
| I haven't tried it yet.

Looks interesting, but it's pretty darned big (11.5 x 21") so there are
going to be some limitations for use (obviously, you need as much of that
surface as possible getting direct sunlight). Max current is listed as
4.5 watts, so it's going to take quite a while to charge that 10 watt
NiteRider battery. However, it says that gadget's been available since
2004, and I suspect efficiency has increased quite a bit since then, so
there may be something newer (albeit likely more expensive) that could do
a better job (smaller size or more current).

Perhaps others know what you are trying to get across here, though I do
not.
Watt measure power, Ampere measure current. They are different units.

power: energy per unit time
current: charge per unit time

current x voltage = power

--
Michael Press
1 amp = 1.2534711e-11 pound electron / sec